- Source
- Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales, Vol 1-3. Gummere, Richard Mott, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1917-1925.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi015.humanitext-lat2:38.1-38.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Seneca emphasizes the efficacy of intimate and quiet conversation (sermo) over loud public disputations for actual learning. He compares philosophical precepts to seeds, which, though tiny, can grow into great wisdom if received by a suitable mind.
Merito exigis, ut hoc inter nos epistularum commercium frequentemus. Plurimum proficit sermo, quia minutatim inrepit animo. Disputationes praeparatae et effusae audiente populo plus habent strepitus, minus familiaritatis. Philosophia bonum consilium est; consilium nemo clare dat.1 Aliquando utendum est et illis, ut ita dicam, contionibus, ubi qui dubitat, impellendus est; ubi vero non hoc agendum est, ut velit discere, sed ut discat, ad haec submissiora verba veniendum est. Facilius intrant et haerent; nec enim multis opus est, sed efficacibus.
You demand with good reason that we should make this exchange of letters between us more frequent. Conversation is of the greatest benefit, because it creeps into the mind little by little. Prepared and poured-out disputations in the presence of a listening crowd have more noise, but less intimacy. Philosophy is good advice; no one gives advice in a loud voice. Sometimes we must also make use of those public speeches, so to speak, where he who hesitates must be impelled; but where the object is not to make him wish to learn, but that he actually learn, we must come to these more subdued words. They enter and cling more easily; for there is need not of many words, but of effective ones.
Seminis modo spargenda sunt,2 quod quamvis sit exiguum, cum occupavit idoneum locum, vires suas explicat et ex minimo in maximos auctus diffunditur. Idem facit ratio; non late patet, si aspicias: in opere crescit. Pauca sunt, quae dicuntur, sed si illa animus bene excepit, convalescunt et exurgunt. Eadem est, inquam, praeceptorum condicio quae seminum; multum efficiunt. et angusta sunt. Tantum, ut dixi, idonea mens capiat3 illa et in se trahat. Multa invicem et ipsa generabit et plus reddet quam acceperit. VALE.
They must be sown in the manner of a seed, which, although it be tiny, when it has occupied a suitable place, unfolds its strength, and from the smallest beginning spreads out into the greatest growth. Reason does the same; it does not lie open wide, if you look at it: it grows in activity. Few are the things that are said, but if the mind has received them well, they gain strength and rise up. The condition of precepts, I say, is the same as that of seeds; they accomplish much, and yet they are narrow. Only, as I said, let a suitable mind grasp them and draw them into itself. It will in turn itself generate many things and return more than it received. FAREWELL.
- 38.1consilium nemo clare dat
The adverb 'clare' (clearly, aloud) is here understood in the sense of 'in a loud voice'. Some manuscripts suggest alternative readings such as 'clamore' (with a shout) or 'clamoso'. It stands in contrast to public speeches that rely on noise rather than quiet persuasion.
- 38.2spargenda sunt
The subject of 'spargenda sunt' is not explicitly expressed, but it implicitly refers to neuter plural nouns from the context, such as 'verba' (words) or 'praecepta' (precepts, which appears later as praeceptorum).
- 38.2Tantum... capiat
The present subjunctive 'capiat' (and 'trahat'), used with the restrictive adverb 'tantum', expresses a conditional wish or limitation, meaning 'only let... grasp' or 'provided that... grasps'.